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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929554">Everything's Better with (Dark) Magic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy'>RandyPandy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awakening Trio, Azura!Soleil, Camilla!Ophelia, Chrom!Inigo, F/M, Gen, Henry!Owain, Laslow!Shigure, Lon'qu!Severa, Olivia!Lucina, Post-Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation, Refs to Hidden Truths DLC, Selena!Nina, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:15:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Are you sure this is going to work?” ten-year-old Inigo asked, glancing between his sister and his cousin.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Owain was squinting and frowning at the sigils as he shakily drew them on the ground, occasionally wiping one off and fixing it. “I think so. The fell arts have never proven Father wrong!”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“What else can we do?” Lucina said. “The older me is already looking, and every letter that she sends says that she hasn’t found them yet.”</i>
</p>
<p>Or: Some foolhardy royal children attempt to use a dark magic ritual to teleport to where their future selves were.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aqua | Azura/Lazward | Laslow, Camilla/Odin (Fire Emblem), Luna | Selena/Zero | Niles, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Everything's Better with (Dark) Magic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! Despite not posting anything since July, I finally managed to finish something! Sorry about the long hiatus, I was extremely wrapped up with a lot of things, but hopefully this is the start of me posting more again.</p>
<p>This didn’t quite turn out the way that I wanted it to, but I think it turned out alright. Hope you guys enjoy the concept at least. :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you sure this is going to work?” ten-year-old Inigo asked, glancing between his sister and his cousin.</p>
<p>Owain was squinting and frowning at the sigils as he drew them on the ground, occasionally wiping one off and fixing it. “I think so. The fell arts have never proven Father wrong!”</p>
<p> “What else can we do?” Lucina said. “The older me is already looking, and every letter that she sends says that she hasn’t found them yet.”</p>
<p>It had been around two years since the older versions of Inigo, Owain, and Severa had disappeared. With the older versions having been around for most of their childhoods, the younger versions had viewed them all as older brothers and sisters and they had been quite close.</p>
<p>But then one day, the three had vanished. While the older Lucina and several of the others had left Ylisse, too, they usually sent letters back to them to promise that they were doing alright. But no one had seen any trace of the other three, and with the adults at their wits end, it was up to the younger Lucina, Owain, and Inigo to try to find them.</p>
<p>Or so they believed.</p>
<p>Owain had nicked one of his father’s dark magic tomes in order to see if there had been any locator spells, and they had found one that had seemed promising. Sure, it had involved catching some insects (which Inigo had firmly said “No thanks” to, meaning that Lucina and Owain had had to gather them), drinking a strange potion that (hopefully) wouldn’t kill them, and adding drops of their blood to a different potion meant to activate in the circle, but it would work! It had to work!</p>
<p>“I mean,” Owain said, gesturing to the sigils now that he was done drawing them. They looked downright terrifying. “How bad could it be?”</p>
<p>“I’m not going to answer that,” Inigo muttered, cautiously inching towards them. “Okay. You’ve drawn them. What now?”</p>
<p>“Now…” Owain squinted at the book. “Now we need to have people that share blood with the people we’re looking for step into the center of the circle, holding their items. That would be all three of us. Especially me and Inigo, ‘cuz we’re the same people. And Luci since she is Inigo’s sister and my cousin.”</p>
<p>Lucina nodded, and tugged a still nervous Inigo into the circle that Owain had indicated. She made sure that the both of them had one of the older Inigo’s dancer rings attached to their belts. Owain, of course, had the Missletainn sword belonging to the older Owain. “And?”</p>
<p>“And then we, uh… activate this potion,” Owain said, grabbing the bottle that he had put their blood-mixed potion into, “by uncorking it and someone saying the incantation.” He put the bottle in between them, uncorked it, and then squinted at the book once more before saying something that none of them could understand.</p>
<p>The sigils lit up, and a gust of wind blew despite the fact that they were indoors, and Inigo fidgeted nervously. “Uh, Owain? Is it supposed to do this?”</p>
<p>“Um, I’m not—” That was all that Owain was able to get out before he let out a surprised yelp as a field of energy surrounded them, lifting them in the air.</p>
<p>As the world faded into white, all Inigo could think of was that if they survived this, their parents were going to <em>kill</em> them.</p><hr/>
<p>Lucina groaned as the world faded back to her. Distangling herself from the body of her brother, she sat up and quickly looked around. Inigo had just opened his eyes and was staring at her confusedly, but Owain was…</p>
<p>“Inigo, where’s Owain?!”</p>
<p>Inigo sprang to his feet at his sister’s declaration and he grabbed her hand as they surveyed the area. It looked like they had ended up in some kind of back alley, and no one seemed to take any notice of them, meaning that no one had noticed their arrival. They could hear people talking, laughing, shopping around, someone calling for ‘Laslow’ to hurry up, merchants selling their wares, but the voice of their cousin was nowhere to be heard.</p>
<p>Worse, this was not any place that they recognized. The sky seemed to be dark, much darker than they were used to, but the marketplace was bustling, as if this was another ordinary afternoon, and the clocktower in the distance showed that it <em>was</em> supposedly afternoon.</p>
<p>“Where… where did that spell take us?” Inigo asked, scooting closer towards Lucina. “Luci, how are we going to find Owain?”</p>
<p>Lucina patted her hip to make sure that she still had her Steel Sword and the dancer ring, and checked Inigo over. He still had his dagger and dancer ring as well. “I-I don’t know yet.” She couldn’t tell him that she wasn’t sure <em>how</em> to find them. She had to be strong for her shy, meek brother!</p>
<p>Grabbing his hand, she tugged him out of the alleyway and into the crowd. White hair wasn’t <em>that</em> common; hopefully they would find Owain soon.</p>
<p>She didn’t want to think of what it would mean if they didn’t find him.</p><hr/>
<p>“Oh, misfortune! Does he live?” a girl’s voice asked.</p>
<p>“Couldn’t tell you. He’s cute, at least…” This was a second girl.</p>
<p>“Oh, I do hope he’s alive! Falling like that had to hurt… I’ll go get my staff.” This one, he thought, was a boy.</p>
<p>Owain cracked his eyes open, blinking as he stared up above him. He was in some kind of building, made up of black stone, with lamps lighting the hallways. His head felt like it had taken a pounding, and he groaned. “Ugh…”</p>
<p>“Hark! He awakens!” the first girl spoke again, sounding far too cheerful.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Ophelia, I can see that,” the second girl said sarcastically. Now that he could focus, Owain could see the pair. The first, Ophelia, was a girl around his age with wavy lavender hair, wearing a rather revealing yellow outfit. His cheeks turned red and he quickly turned his attention to the second girl, who was wearing a more practical outfit and had her red hair in braids.</p>
<p>A third girl with her hair in pink ringlets joined the scene, holding a staff of some kind, and then paused when Owain sat up, glancing between him and Ophelia for a moment. “Oh! Ophelia, he looks a little like you and your father.”</p>
<p>Wait. Owain blinked. Maybe he <em>had</em> hit his head too hard, but that was definitely the boy’s voice he had heard coming out of the pink-haired girl(?).</p>
<p>“Huh… you’re right, Forrest, he kinda does,” the braided girl mused, peering down at them. “Yeah, the resemblance to your dad is <em>uncanny</em>, Ophelia. His hair’s just the wrong color and he’s our age.”</p>
<p>Owain tried to scoot back, not sure if these three meant him any harm, but he knew that he was at a distinct disadvantage, especially since he had noticed that Lucina and Inigo were not with him (oh <em>Naga</em>, he hoped they were safe). While the boy only had a staff, he could see a bow slung across the red-haired girl’s shoulders, and a tome attached to the blond girl’s hip, and he had no doubts that they knew how to use them. He had his sword (technically his older self’s sword, but it was his, right?), but if these three decided to attack him…</p>
<p>The girl with the braids snorted, and then grabbed her bow as well as an arrow, glaring down at him. “Who are you, what do you want, and <em>how</em> did you get in here? And why do you look like Ophelia’s dad?!”</p>
<p>Owain gulped.</p><hr/>
<p>Searching for a boy with white hair, much to their chagrin, was not as easy as they’d hoped. White hair seemed to be common on the people here. The bright, sunny yellows that Owain favored for his clothing were thankfully not, so Lucina was trying to pinpoint that instead. After some time, she huffed and stopped only for Inigo to tug on her hand.</p>
<p>“Luci, we’ve walked around this area three times,” Inigo whispered to his sister. She blinked, and glanced around.</p>
<p>“How can you be so sure?” she asked. “Everything looks the same to me.”</p>
<p>“Because I remember passing that group of lovely ladies over there,” he gestured to a group sitting at a café. It looked like a group of noblewomen – what appeared to be a mother and daughter with pale blue hair, a woman with lavender hair, and another mother and daughter with blond hair. Two other women with light bluish-green hair and white hair were standing near them. The clothes of those last two women weren’t as fine and they were likely retainers or servants of some kind.</p>
<p>Lucina grimaced. Of course he would remember because of girls. She wasn’t sure whether to blame her mother or the older Inigo for that. “Right, right… well, I’m not sure what else to do. No one we’ve talked to has seen someone matching Owain’s description.”</p>
<p>Inigo pursed his lips. “You think he might’ve landed at a different spot? We kinda assumed that they’d be at the same place since they left together, but what if they <em>weren’t</em>?”</p>
<p>“…We can’t even be sure that it worked at <em>all</em>,” Lucina murmured. “And nothing looks familiar…”</p>
<p>“Excuse me, dears?”</p>
<p>Inigo squeaked and darted behind his sister and Lucina whipped her head around to find herself looking at the lavender-haired woman that had been at the café. She must have approached them while they had been talking to each other. “Can we help you, miss?” Lucina asked, subtly scooting in between her brother and the woman.</p>
<p>The woman’s smile widened. “Oh, aren’t you both darling?” she cooed, like a mother hen almost, though she didn’t wait for a response before she continued. “I couldn’t help but note that you had walked past here several times, and you seem to be a little confused… is something the matter?”</p>
<p>Inigo said nothing, hiding behind his sister. Lucina gripped at her brother’s hand, not entirely sure whether she could trust these people, but figuring they had little to lose at this point. If they were hostile, then they were in trouble <em>regardless</em>, and if they weren’t, maybe they could at least get some help.</p>
<p>“We’re lost,” she finally said, trying not to blush in embarrassment. “We were with our cousin, but we got separated from him, and we’re not sure where he is.”</p>
<p>“Could he have returned home for help once he didn’t find you?” This time, it was the woman with the pale-blue hair that spoke up.</p>
<p>Lucina shook her head miserably. “We’re… not from around here. We only arrived here today. We don’t have a home here. Our parents aren’t here either.”</p>
<p>The lavender-haired woman got a strange <em>look</em> on her face, and the other two looked at her warily. “Camilla!” the blond woman said, though she sounded like she was trying not to giggle. “You can’t just keep them! What would Odin say? What would <em>Xander</em> say?”</p>
<p>Keep them? Why did it sound like they were pets?</p>
<p>“Don’t be silly, Elise dear, I just want to make sure that these two are <em>alright</em> until they find their cousin,” Camilla said. “Not a word from you either, Azura.”</p>
<p>The older woman with the pale blue hair just smiled, shaking her head. The girl by her side, though, looked curiously at Lucina. “She’s super cute, though,” the girl said. Her bright smile looked oddly familiar. “I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her.”</p>
<p>“Soleil, please,” Azura said with a sigh, but she smiled warmly at Lucina and Inigo. “Can you tell us the name of your cousin and what he looks like? If we don’t find him by nightfall, as Camilla hinted, you may stay with us and continue searching in the morning.”</p>
<p>Something in Lucina was still wary, but when she saw Inigo smile shyly back at them, stepping out from behind her, she relaxed. Inigo was an excellent judge of character, and while he won’t speak until he was completely comfortable, the fact that he was no longer hiding meant that he seemed to find these people trustworthy.</p>
<p>“His name is Owain. He’s got short white hair, and was wearing yellow clothes styled like ours, and had a sword with him.”</p>
<p>“And your names, dears?” Camilla asked.</p>
<p>“My name is Lucina, and this is my little brother, Inigo,” she told them, watching them carefully. There were no signs of recognition of the names, which meant they were very, very far from Ylisse. Where had the spell even <em>dropped</em> them?</p>
<p>“Well, come along then!” Elise said this time, nearly bouncing. “Let’s go look!”</p><hr/>
<p>“I don’t believe you,” the braided girl – Nina, he’d learned, was her name – said flatly as Forrest healed his head with the staff and looked him over.</p>
<p>“It’s true!” Owain insisted. “My cousins and I had many concerns about the well-being of our fated siblings,” their older selves weren’t siblings, but there was no way he was going to admit that to these strangers, “and I searched into the realm of the forbidden dark arts to create a teleportation spell that would lead us here!”</p>
<p>“And your cousins just so happened to vanish,” Nina said, her arms crossed. “And you ended up here. Inside a castle with a million wards.”</p>
<p>“Hold on,” Forrest said, and the two girls looked at him. “He said he was looking for his older brother and used a teleportation spell that would link him to a blood relative… and Ophelia, he talks and looks just like you and your father, and also uses dark magic… did your father ever mention a younger brother?”</p>
<p>Ophelia shook her head. “None. Neither my legendary father nor my heroic uncle have mentioned any kin.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, Dad told me that used to drive him up the wall, though he’s mellowed out some since then,” Nina said with a shrug.</p>
<p>“Oh, now what used to drive me up the wall?”</p>
<p>Ophelia, Nina, and Forrest whirled, and as Owain gazed past them, he could see a white-haired man in a cloak standing behind them, an eyepatch covering his face. Huh. He looked <em>cool</em>.</p>
<p>“I come here to investigate the well of magical energy that Lord Leo and Odin detected just now in the castle, and I find you three. Nina, I should have known you and Lord Forrest and Lady Ophelia were involved somehow.” From the sound of everything, this was Nina’s father. He seemed unamused to find the four of them there. “Care to explain what you were doing and what <em>he</em> is doing here in the palace?”</p>
<p>Owain clambered to his feet, keeping his hand away from Missletainn since he could see the man tense and automatically reach for his bow. “I am simply on the search for some kin of legend!” Owain protested. “I have no intentions of causing misfortune or harm to fall to this sacred place! …Er, if this place was sacred, but I am not sure of that—”</p>
<p>“Dear Dusk Dragon,” the man muttered. “Did they go and have a <em>son</em> as well?” He stepped over to the four of them and grabbed Owain’s chin, making the boy squawk and bump his head against the wall – that hurt! – as he studied him carefully.</p>
<p>Owain fidgeted as the man’s single blue eye roved over him, studying <em>everything</em> – from his hair, to his face, to the freckles on his nose, and even to the sword by his side. He wanted to protest when the man grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, studying it, including the name etched on it, and then stared.</p>
<p>“…Missletainn?”</p>
<p>“Hey, Ophelia, isn’t that the name of your tome?” Forrest asked.</p>
<p>“Y-Yes, that’s the name of my beloved tome!” Ophelia proclaimed, pulling one of the tomes out. Sure enough, the name Missletainn was etched onto the cover, which both the man and Owain could see.</p>
<p>“It’s a great name!” Owain protested, beaming at her despite how hard his heart was pounding. “My brother etched it upon this sword! It was once his!”</p>
<p> “My father,” Ophelia said to them all, “told me he used to possess a sword named Missletainn before he took up the ways of the arcane arts.”</p>
<p>There was a pause, and then Nina’s father pulled him in front of him and began to walk him down the hallway, still holding onto Missletainn. Owain didn’t protest outside of a yelp of “Hey, be gentle!”</p>
<p>“I think,” Nina’s father said slowly, “We should go find Lord Leo and Odin.” Owain crinkled his nose at the unfamiliar names, but he didn’t protest as the other dragged him down the hallway.</p><hr/>
<p>“So what brought the three of you to Nohr, if you aren’t from here?” Elise asked, stepping alongside her sisters, daughter and niece.</p>
<p>Lucina smiled; Elise reminded her of her Aunt Lissa. They looked a little different, but they liked to wear their hair in pigtails, and they had the same energy and playfulness. “Well, um, we were actually looking for our older brothers and our friend’s sister.”</p>
<p>“Siblings?” Elise’s daughter, Sophie, asked. She seemed to have inherited her mother’s cheerfulness, though given how different they looked aside from hair and eye color, she had likely taken after her father.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Lucina said. “Our brother and Owain’s brother and our friend Severa’s sister had left awhile back, and they never sent any letters, so we got worried, and went to look for them.” She looked behind her at Inigo guiltily; he still hadn’t said a word to any of them. Soleil had tried to drag him out for conversation, and even Camilla and Azura had tried to fuss over him a little, especially Camilla, but he hadn’t been all that receptive aside from making a few shy compliments, which had only served to make Azura giggle with amusement and Camilla coo over him again.</p>
<p>“And you did not tell your parents?” Camilla asked, tsking at the two of them, and Inigo looked like he wanted to disappear.</p>
<p>“…Yeah,” Lucina muttered. In hindsight, it really <em>had</em> been a stupid idea, but they’d been so desperate. Their parents were going to be <em>beside</em> themselves. “Severa said we were being stupid, and Inigo was against the idea from the start, but Owain and I dragged him into it, and now Owain’s missing, and our parents are going to be so upset when they see all of us are gone… they reacted badly enough when our brothers disappeared.”</p>
<p>“Hmm… We could spend some time searching for your cousin, and maybe your brothers if they are here, but after that, we will need to find a way to return you home,” Camilla told them.</p>
<p>“We don’t want to trouble you…!” Lucina protested, but Camilla interrupted.</p>
<p>“It’s no trouble at all. We can’t, in good conscience, leave the two of you wandering out here on your own in a city that you’re unfamiliar with.”</p>
<p>Lucina glanced over at her brother, silently asking for his opinion. Inigo just shrugged; he would trust her decision. She turned back to the women. “We’re not even citizens of this country, though, wouldn’t you get into trouble?”</p>
<p>Camilla <em>giggled</em>, and there was a gleam in her eyes that suggested she knew something that they didn’t. “I don’t think you need to worry about that, dear. Well, before we start searching, we were planning to meet up with Laslow, Silas, and Shigure in just a few minutes.”</p>
<p>“Who’re they?” Lucina repeated.</p>
<p>Soleil brightened. “Shigure’s my brother and Laslow’s my dad, and Uncle Silas is Sophie’s dad!” she pointed out, grabbing Lucina’s hand. “You’ll love them. They’re the best!” She grinned at Inigo, who shrank back again. He looked like he was afraid of Soleil. “And Shigure’s just as shy as <em>you</em>. You might get along.”</p>
<p>“…Naga save me,” Inigo whispered under his breath.</p><hr/>
<p>The place that they were taken to, Owain noted from the brief glimpse he got inside the door, was a library of sorts. The man, who he’d learned was named Niles, gripped him by the arm and kept him in front of him, not letting him out of his sight, while Forrest, Ophelia, and Nina trailed behind them curiously.</p>
<p>Just from his conversation with Niles, Forrest, Ophelia, and Nina, he’d been able to gather a few things; he was in a noble’s (very large) household, and that Forrest and Ophelia were the children of two of the nobles that lived here. Niles was the personal retainer of Forrest’s father and a good friend of Ophelia’s father, while Nina was his daughter. Ophelia’s father had married Forrest’s father’s sister, making the two of them cousins.</p>
<p>“You three, keep an eye on him,” Niles told them, releasing Owain and stepping into the library. “I’m sure you can handle one unarmed kid if he tries to pick a fight.”</p>
<p>Owain sulkily noted that Niles didn’t return Missletainn to him, and instead crossed his arms and turned towards the three children. Well, teenagers. They were all older than him by at least a few years. Still, he could take them! …Maybe. His older self definitely could have taken three teenagers unarmed.</p>
<p>“Perhaps you could tell me exactly <em>where</em> I ended up with my spell?” he asked.</p>
<p>“You’re in the capital city, Windmire, of Nohr,” Forrest said, when it became clear that Nina didn’t want to speak up.</p>
<p>Owain looked at him blankly. “Nohr? That’s impossible.”</p>
<p>A pause.</p>
<p>“Uh, why?” Nina asked this time.</p>
<p>Owain frowned. “If Nohr is real, am I correct to assume that the legendary kingdoms of Hoshido and Valla are real as well?”</p>
<p>“Yes, they are,” Ophelia said slowly.</p>
<p>“…Please don’t joke with me. Valla, Nohr, and Hoshido are <em>myths</em>. Every child grew up learning about those kingdoms back home. If they existed, they would’ve existed thousands of years ago. Next thing, you’re going to tell me that the First Dragon <em>Anankos</em> and the Great War of Fates against him was real.”</p>
<p>Another pause.</p>
<p>“…Anankos <em>was</em> real,” Forrest said. “Our parents fought against him in a war a few years back that revealed Valla’s existence to everybody and defeated him.”</p>
<p>Okay. Time out. This was impossible. Owain opened his mouth to protest again, when the door to the library opened.</p><hr/>
<p>“Oh! Dad!” Sophie called out, waving. “Dad! We’re over here!”</p>
<p>“Silas!” Elise called.</p>
<p>A grey-haired nobleman that had a cowlick identical to Sophie’s (to Lucina, it was plain as day that Sophie looked far more like her father than her mother) grinned and waved at the women. “Ah, there you are!” he said, as he and a boy with Azura’s pale blue hair joined them.</p>
<p>“Hey Uncle Silas, Shigure,” Soleil grinned, reaching out to grab the boy. “Where’s Dad?”</p>
<p>Shigure dodged his sister, trying not to huff as he went to stand by his mother. “He’s coming – he just had to finish paying. We managed to convince him not to go back to the palace yet without us, though.”</p>
<p>Elise giggled. “Sometimes I think Laslow thinks he still works for my brother.”</p>
<p>One word had caught Lucina’s ears, and she glanced over at the large, black building in the center of the city. “Palace? Is that where you live?”</p>
<p>Silas seemed to notice Lucina and Inigo for the first time, and looked puzzled. “Who’re these kids?”</p>
<p>“These little darlings are Lucina and Inigo,” Camilla explained. “They’re lost and looking for their family members, so we agreed to help them. And yes dear, we do.” She sounded very amused.</p>
<p>Lucina took note of the tone of her voice, the fact that they were <em>very</em> finely dressed even for noblewomen, that Azura’s husband used to work for Azura’s brother, who lived in the palace… that Camilla was completely sure that no one would trouble them about laws, that they had their own bodyguards (Beruka and Effie, if she remembered their names right)… the pieces came together in her mind, and she went very, very pale.</p>
<p>“I… oh gods, your highnesses, I…” she stammered out, and Inigo squeaked as well, quickly ducking his head into a bow. She was in the company of other princesses (maybe even a queen) and their prince consorts, and all of her diplomatic training was refusing to come to her! “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to involve you in our problems…”</p>
<p>“Oh- oh no, please, don’t!” Camilla patted both children on the heads. “It’s no trouble at all.”</p>
<p>Lucina stood back up fully, watching as Inigo shyly stepped a few feet away, so that he wasn’t trying to crowd their personal space. Her poor brother, he was already shy around them as it was, but now that he knew that they were other royalty, he was going to be even worse. Sure, he was fine around their family, but whenever there were diplomatic talks with Chon’sin, or Plegia, or even Valm, he became too nervous.</p>
<p>“If you say so…” Lucina said, trailing off uncertainly.</p>
<p>The awkward mood was broken by Soleil shoving Shigure towards Inigo. Shigure stumbled to regain his balance, looking at his sister with bewilderment. “Soleil…”</p>
<p>“Make friends! He’s just as shy as you, Shigure!”</p>
<p>Inigo stared up at the taller Shigure. Shigure stared back at him before finally breaking the silence. “Er, hello, Inigo, was it?”</p>
<p>“Um, hi…” Inigo mumbled back.</p>
<p>Lucina felt bad for Inigo and Shigure, but the situation was too funny. They were <em>very</em> similar when it came to their anxious expressions.</p><hr/>
<p>Having left the four children out in the corridor just outside the library, Niles gripped the sword that he had taken from that boy – Owain – and headed to the section where Leo and Odin had been poring over some books. “Milord, Odin.”</p>
<p>“Ah, Niles,” Leo said. “Were you able to determine anything unusual happening as a result of the spell?”</p>
<p>“Mm.” And here, Niles let out a smirk, though it didn’t quite reach his eye. “<em>You</em>.”</p>
<p>Odin blinked as Niles pointed at him. “Me?”</p>
<p>“Yes, <em>you</em>. You’re indirectly responsible for it!” And Niles set the sword down on the table. “Look familiar, Odin?”</p>
<p>Leo tilted his head in confusion as Odin picked up the sword. “Oh! What a fine sword of legend! It deserves the finest name that has ever existed! I shall call this— wait.” Odin turned the sword over, and then his face went white. “This is… my old Missletainn! Niles! Where did you obtain this?!”</p>
<p>Niles looked at him dryly. “You wouldn’t happen to have a kid brother named Owain with white hair, would you? The kid that had it was a dead ringer for you face-wise. Claimed he used some spell to teleport himself over here, which is likely what caused that magical outburst.”</p>
<p>Odin stared a moment longer at Missletainn, before he outright <em>leapt</em> over the table and ran towards the library door.</p>
<p>Leo stood, looking utterly confused. “Odin has a brother?”</p>
<p>“Apparently. Wanna go see the fun, milord?” With that said, Niles sauntered over to where Odin had opened the door.</p>
<p>When he stepped outside, Odin stared at the four children that were standing in the hallway. Nina, Forrest, and his daughter, of course he recognized, but the fourth…</p>
<p>That was Naga’s crest on his (nicely tailored) yellow clothing, and he had white hair, like he had had as a child, and looked <em>exactly</em> like him. He wasn’t dreaming; his younger self from the new timeline <em>had</em> somehow ended up in Nohr. Owain stared at him for a moment as if he didn’t recognize him at first (maybe it was the fact his hair was now <em>blond</em> like Lissa’s that did it), but Odin winked at him and a huge grin split across Owain’s face.</p>
<p>“By Naga!” Owain was the one that broke the silence first. “My fabled ‘brother’! My spell was a great success!”</p>
<p>“Father! Exactly when were you going to tell me that I had another legendary uncle?” Ophelia asked as Owain outright <em>tackled</em> Odin. “Is he a Chosen One like us?”</p>
<p>“…I can see how he’s related to you,” Niles said dryly as he watched the eleven-year-old latch onto Odin happily. “He’s got your enthusiasm.”</p>
<p>Odin decided not to point that they were actually the same person as he grunted and caught Owain. “Yes, he is, Ophelia,” Odin said, a little too stunned to drop into his flowery speech. He set Owain down and gripped him by the shoulder. “…Though how he stands before us is a mystery to me.”</p>
<p>“I found an untested spell in one of father’s tomes!” Owain told him, grinning, and Odin winced when he heard that. “It was our best chance at working, and for a moment, I was concerned that it did not, and yet! Before me you stand!”</p>
<p>“…You are not a mage, Owain – Chosen One you are, but you had never practiced.”</p>
<p>“No, but neither were you when you left home,” the boy pointed out, eyeing him up and down, and gesturing to the grimoire that he kept at his side. “…What are you wearing? Mother will have a conniption if she sees that.”</p>
<p>“I dunno, kid, I rather like it,” Niles said with a grin, and Odin gave him a shove.</p>
<p>“Behave. Children are present.” To Owain, he turned back, frowning. “You <em>teleported </em>to Nohr <em>by yourself </em>using an <em>untested spell</em>? You are <em>lucky</em> that you arrived here!” This was exactly the kind of stupid thing that he would have done at this boy’s age had he not been busy running from a Fell Dragon.</p>
<p>Owain bit his lip, and looked guilty. “Uh… no… not by <em>myself</em>.”</p>
<p>Odin felt a sense of dread go through him. “…Who came with you?”</p>
<p>“…Lucina and Inigo were worried, too, and so all three of us decided to try this spell. We asked Severa if she wanted to look for her sister too, but she just scoffed at us.”</p>
<p>“Dear Naga,” Odin muttered, placing his hand on his face for a moment. “My little cousins too? Our parents are going to be <em>furious</em>.” He glanced at the boy again. “Did the spell not work and they got separated?”</p>
<p>“Erm… the spell that we used was, uh… supposed to track down a family member using something special to them along with blood from family. I used Missletainn, and it led me to you. They had, um, our cousin’s dancer rings, and, um, so I guess it would have dropped them wherever he was.”</p>
<p>“Odin,” and Odin nearly jumped as he had not heard Leo coming up behind him, “Laslow. Wasn’t he in the City looking for something for my brother?” By Naga, how long had Leo been listening? That wasn’t the important part, though.</p>
<p>“That means Lucina and Inigo are lost in the city?!” Odin shrieked, causing the others to wince and cover their ears.</p><hr/>
<p>It was after a moment that Lucina noticed Inigo suddenly focus on something in the distance. “Luci… I think that’s…!”</p>
<p>And then he suddenly bolted, running towards the crowd. “Inigo!” she called, breaking free from the royals to run after him. “Inigo, where are you going?!”</p>
<p>This was not something that her brother normally did. When in a strange place, surrounded by strangers, he stuck <em>very close</em> to whoever he was with (in this case, her). Something unusual had to have happened for him to decide that he wasn’t <em>going to do that</em>, and Lucina kept her eye on his blue hair as she chased him and tried to fathom <em>why</em>.</p>
<p>Whether the royals were chasing after her, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t lose Inigo! The only reason for him to bolt like that would be if he had spotted Owain (but <em>surely</em> he would have told her, and she couldn’t see Owain’s distinctive white hair and yellow robes), so she was confused.</p>
<p>She was even <em>more confused</em> when she saw Inigo reach a grey-haired man who was looking at his shopping in his bag, and throw his arms around him.</p>
<p>The man seemed startled to have the boy suddenly hug him, and he knelt down. Lucina reached them just then, gasping, and was prepared to apologize for her brother acting out of character when she realized that the man looked <em>too</em> <em>familiar</em>.</p>
<p>Of course he looked familiar. It was an older version of her brother’s face. The hair color was different, and he was dressed in Nohrian clothing and not Ylissean clothing, and the Brand was gone from his eye somehow, but she <em>knew</em> who this was.</p>
<p>“…Luci? Inigo?” the man – the <em>older Inigo</em> – asked softly, wrapping an arm around the much younger Inigo and reaching out to brush Lucina’s hair from her face. “Am I dreaming? Is that you two?”</p>
<p>Something inside Lucina just <em>released</em> and she felt the tension drain out of her. They might be lost, and Owain nowhere to be seen, but they had managed to at least somewhat accomplish what they had set out to do in the first place. They had found the older version of Inigo. Now they could tell Marth – the older Lucina – if they ever got home. “Y… Yes! It’s us! You’re here!” she all but cried.</p>
<p>“Laslow, you know these kids?”</p>
<p>It was Elise – apparently the princesses <em>had</em> followed.</p>
<p>Lucina knitted her eyebrows when they called her older brother ‘Laslow’ – did he really take another name like her older self did? Well, she could at least stop calling them ‘older Inigo’ and ‘younger Inigo’ in her head now – and turned towards them. They all looked surprised. Truthfully, <em>she</em> was surprised to learn that they knew him.</p>
<p>Inigo pulled his face away from Laslow’s chest, took one look at how they were all being stared at, and buried his face against Laslow again.</p>
<p>“Ah… everyone’s staring…” Laslow muttered so quietly that Lucina almost didn’t hear him, but he straightened up and took her hand. She clutched at it tightly as he swallowed, and then straightened his back in a manner that she had seen her father do.</p>
<p>He’d been so goofy before he’d left. When had he suddenly started reminding her of her father?</p>
<p>“S-So, these two, Lucina and Inigo, are my little sister and brother,” Laslow said, giving both of the children a squeeze.</p>
<p>“You mean we’re <em>related</em>?” Soleil looked distraught, and Lucina frowned again as she tried to comprehend the fact that Soleil was Laslow’s <em>daughter</em>. But Laslow hadn’t been gone for long enough to meet Azura, marry her, and have two children a few years older than her...</p>
<p>“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Laslow said, his mouth twitching as he tried not to laugh. “Speaking of, I can’t understand how the two of you got here.”</p>
<p>Inigo turned very, very red. “Blame Owain,” he whispered, shyly twirling a lock of his hair.</p>
<p>Laslow rubbed his forehead. “Odin’s brother was involved? I’m not surprised.”</p>
<p>Well, that told her that older Owain was going by ‘Odin’. “About that… we lost Owain, and they were helping us find him.”</p>
<p>“You—What happened?” Laslow finally asked them.</p>
<p>“Owain found this dark magic ritual that allowed us to teleport to any location near the person we are looking for as long as we share blood and have something important to that person,” Lucina finally explained, and she saw his eyes flicker towards the dancer rings the two of them were holding onto. “When we woke up, we couldn’t find Owain.”</p>
<p>“What did Owain have?”</p>
<p>“Missletainn,” she told him.</p>
<p>“Ah.” He smiled brightly at the two of them, which Lucina knew was a sign that he was hiding his anxiety; her younger brother was the exact same way. “Then he should be where Odin is, correct?”</p>
<p> “Yes… oh. It didn’t even occur to me.” She had been so panicked upon not seeing Owain that she hadn’t even considered that it would drop him there. She had ended up near Laslow, so the possibility that Owain ended up near <em>his</em> older self instead was there. “Where would that be, then?”</p>
<p>“Back home,” Camilla said this time, and Lucina almost jumped, having forgotten that <em>all</em> of the royals had followed them. “My brother asked him to help with some research that he was doing.”</p>
<p>Laslow had a pensive look on his face. “I should head home, and make sure that nothing has happened.” He glanced down at his bag. “…Then I’ll deliver this to L- Xander.”</p>
<p>“It’s high time that we were headed home, regardless,” Camilla pointed out to him. “How lucky that we were the ones that approached your little siblings, Laslow, instead of someone else. I wasn’t even aware that you and Odin <em>had</em> little siblings… I’m sure my brothers would be very interested in that piece of information.”</p>
<p>“I- er…” Laslow cleared his throat as they began to walk back. “Well, I’ve never had the chance to bring them up.”</p>
<p>“And Selena?” Camilla asked, and Lucina wasn’t sure what that tone of her voice meant. “I assume that the sister of little Lucina and Inigo’s friend Severa is her?” Okay, Lucina thought, that meant that older Severa was going by Selena. Good to know.</p>
<p>“Ah… yes…”</p>
<p>“How curious.” Laslow glanced over at Camilla, but she didn’t say anything again. He held his free hand out to Inigo, who immediately grabbed it and held on tightly, eyeing up <em>Soleil</em> of all people nervously.</p>
<p>“Hey, Dad, were you as shy as him when you were his age?” Soleil asked.</p>
<p>“Erm… well, yes,” Laslow admitted, giving Inigo’s hand a squeeze. “And my mother was, too. Lucina and Marth got our father’s recklessness. …And I think you did, too, Soleil.” Because that is the <em>only</em> place that Soleil could have gotten it from, given Azura’s personality.</p>
<p>Shigure had sidled up to the much younger boy and was starting to quietly chat with him again. Inigo’s grip on Laslow’s hand loosened, but he still held on as he replied to Shigure. Laslow smiled at his son and younger self, and then turned back to Lucina and the others.</p>
<p>“Now, let’s head on home, shall we?”</p><hr/>
<p>They had just stepped into the gates of Castle Krakenburg when Odin nearly came barreling out, the smaller version of him in tow. Behind them were, to Laslow’s chagrin, Ophelia, Forrest, Nina, Niles, and Leo, all of whom looked very interested. Well, Ophelia, Nina, and Niles looked extremely interested. Forrest looked bemused and Leo just looked exasperated at everyone’s antics.</p>
<p>“Oh, Laslow!” Elise hopped up and held her hand out. “I’ll go give that to my brother – looks like you have a lot to do!”</p>
<p>“Ah, thank you, Elise,” he said, some of the tension leaving him as he handed his bag to her. Laslow was a little relieved – he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain all of this to Xander right now, and so he was happy to pass it off to Elise.</p>
<p>He also needed to figure out how to get Lucina, Inigo, and Owain <em>home</em>.</p>
<p>“Ho! Lucina and Inigo are well and have found their fabled brother!” Owain was nearly bouncing as he leapt and tackled Laslow, who just patted the boy on the head and gave Odin an exasperated look.</p>
<p>The look of panic that had been on Odin’s face lessened when he saw the three of them, and he rubbed the side of his head. “Ah, you are well, Lucina, Inigo.”</p>
<p>“Hi Odin,” Lucina smiled warmly at him, reaching out for a hug. He hugged her back, giving her a squeeze before releasing her and reaching out to ruffle Inigo’s hair and pull him into a brief hug.</p>
<p>Once he was released, Inigo shrank back as the rest of Odin’s group stared at him, while Camilla looked over at Owain in amusement. “My goodness. He’s really your spitting image, Odin.”</p>
<p>Odin laughed nervously. “R-Right, isn’t it?!”</p>
<p>“Anyways, why don’t we all go inside and settle down before dinner, hm? I’m sure that dear Laslow and Odin need to talk to their siblings in private before they tell us <em>everything</em>, right?” Camilla had a bright smile on her face, which was… honestly a little unnerving to Laslow.</p>
<p>“Er, yes,” Laslow said this time, and then glanced at Odin. “We need to talk. And figure out how they’re going to get home.”</p>
<p>“And you will be coming <em>with us</em>, right?” Lucina asked.</p>
<p>Gods, that expression on her face was just like his older sister’s. “We’ll… discuss that,” he finally told her. Soleil and Ophelia both opened their mouths to protest when Odin put his hand on both of their shoulders and shook his head. Shigure just looked stricken, while Nina and Niles had narrowed their eyes. Leo and Forrest just looked tired and curious respectively.</p>
<p>“We shall discuss all before imparting this knowledge to you,” Odin said, and gently nudged the two girls towards the other children. “Come, Chosen siblings.”</p><hr/>
<p>Now it was just the five of them – Laslow, Odin, Lucina, Inigo, and Owain. Since Selena was away in Hoshido at the moment, she couldn’t be included in this conversation (and truthfully, he didn’t really want to explain everything to Niles yet – how Selena and Niles had gotten married without Niles constantly wheedling her for information was a mystery to them).</p>
<p>Privately, Laslow thought that it was probably for the best. She would have reacted the worst out of all of them, especially since Severa had decided not to come with the other children.</p>
<p>Speaking of…</p>
<p>“Did you three consider how you were going to be returning home once you found us?” he asked them once they were safely inside a guest room, which the two adults had locked from the inside.</p>
<p>“…No,” Inigo said, sighing. “I’m sorry…”</p>
<p>“We were so excited to have a way to find the three of you that we just didn’t think,” Lucina said, placing her hands on her lap. “And then when we got here, we got scared that the spell didn’t work…”</p>
<p>“Speaking of,” Odin said, glancing over at his younger self. “What in the name of Naga made you believe that you would be able to perform a spell of that caliber?”</p>
<p>Owain blushed. “I knew that I could because Father could! So he had to have passed on his power to me!”</p>
<p>Odin grimaced. “Truly, you are lucky that your spell didn’t blow up in your faces.” Owain just winced at the statement.</p>
<p>“We do have a way to return to Ylisse,” Laslow finally admitted, and all three children turned to him, perking up. “But as far as we know, it’s a one-way trip. And since we built our lives here and made friends, we were reluctant to go back without a way to return here.”</p>
<p>“Ah, yes!” Owain perked up again. “How did we end up in Nohr, this kingdom of legend? How did <em>you</em> end up here?”</p>
<p>Laslow and Odin looked at each other.  “It’s a very long story,” Laslow said slowly. “But not entirely important. Let’s just say that we were asked to help, so we did. And now we’ve been building our lives here for… how long has it been for you two? We’ve been here at least five years.”</p>
<p>“Five? You’ve only been gone for two… and Soleil and the others look much older than five,” Lucina said.</p>
<p>One explanation of Deeprealms clearly left the three children confused, Laslow could tell. Truthfully, he still wasn’t sure about the Deeprealms, and wasn’t entirely happy with them, but the children were mostly happy and confident (well, Nina still had some issues with Niles, but they were working them out, and was much closer to Selena – like mother, like daughter, truly,  as Selena had always been closer to <em>her</em> father).</p>
<p>“And while you were in Nohr, you were working as retainers for Nohr’s royal family,” Inigo concluded, glancing between Laslow and Odin. “…But we’re royalty too.”</p>
<p>Laslow looked sheepish. “Ah… but they don’t know that. We haven’t told them. Not even after we got married to Azura and Camilla. Truthfully, I’m not sure if we <em>need</em> to if we’re staying here.”</p>
<p>“But you <em>aren’t</em> staying here,” Lucina said. “You’re coming home with us.”</p>
<p>“Only if we can find a way to come back here,” Laslow said.</p>
<p>“No, you have to find a way,” Inigo said in a rare display of assertiveness, frowning at them. “It’s not fair. Why do you have to leave us?”</p>
<p>Laslow and Odin shared another look with each other. How could the two of them explain that they didn’t want to be interlopers in the childrens’ lives? None of them had wanted to be, which was why “Marth” had gone traveling in the first place. Several of their friends had also gotten married to each other, and had moved out of their parents’ homelands. And then there were the three of them, who had become wandering mercenaries before they’d found Anankos.</p>
<p>By now, Inigo looked like he was going to start crying, and Laslow cupped his cheeks and smiled at him. “Hey, don’t worry, Inigo. Smile for me, will you?”</p>
<p>Inigo managed a weak smile as Lucina and Owain frowned again, and threw himself into Laslow’s arms.</p>
<p>“The young Chosen One may have a point,” Odin finally spoke up.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Laslow turned to him, squeezing Inigo against him and running his fingers through his hair. He had always been a little more sensitive than most people, and his younger self was no exception.</p>
<p>“They managed to get here,” Odin said softly. “Even if it was through a blood ritual. And <em>we</em> managed to get here and have a ticket back.” He gave Owain one more disapproving look – pot, meet kettle, Laslow thought – and seemed thoughtful. “Why couldn’t we find another method to travel more freely between time?”</p>
<p>“We traveled through <em>time</em>?!” Owain burst out, the excitement in his eyes growing again.</p>
<p>“Er… yes,” Laslow admitted.</p>
<p>“Yes!” He pumped his fist. “I have traveled through the annals of time and space like my esteemed other self many years ago, and ended up in the legendary land of Nohr—whoa!” He had leapt to his feet, only to bounce and nearly fell off of the bed, which was avoided as Odin grabbed him by the arm. Sheepishly, he dropped back down onto the bed.</p>
<p>“So we traveled through time,” Lucina said, and it was clear from Odin and Laslow’s faces that they were able to see traces of the older Lucina in her. “Using magic. Can’t you find more magic rituals to bring you back here? Can’t <em>we</em> help?”</p>
<p>“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Odin reluctantly admitted. “My knowledge of the darkest arts, while nearly unparalleled, is not perfect and—”</p>
<p>“In other words, you need to ask Leo for help,” Laslow said. “Maybe Nyx as well.”</p>
<p>“Leo – that dark mage in the library!” Owain said, brightening when he realize he understood what was going on again.</p>
<p>“Yes, him,” Odin replied. “I… suppose if you are capable of running rituals, given your epic journey here, I should bring you along as well.” It was probably far better than leaving Owain to his own devices. “As for Nyx… well, if we find her. I believe she left the city with her husband recently.”</p>
<p>“Anyways,” he continued, “why don’t we go out? I’m sure that everyone is waiting for us.”</p>
<p>“Right,” Laslow said, sliding off of the bed and waiting for the others to do the same. “I should probably go find Xander… Inigo, my dear, why don’t you come with me? Lucina, Owain, why don’t you two go and tell Odin everything you know about the spell you used in the mean time?”</p>
<p>“Alright,” Lucina told him. “Inigo wasn’t very involved in the actual process anyways.”</p>
<p>“Because it was gross,” Inigo muttered, grabbing Laslow’s hand as they walked out.</p>
<p>Owain sniggered.</p><hr/>
<p>If it weren’t for the fact that Laslow would probably traumatize the poor child, he would have laughed at how the moment Inigo had seen Xander, he had immediately hidden behind him. Instead, he gently placed his hand on Inigo’s head to try to soothe him.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he said softly. “It’s alright. That’s King Xander. He looks a little scary, maybe, but he’s really nice, I promise.”</p>
<p>Inigo shook his head and hid his face against Laslow’s side. Laslow bit his lip to hold back his laughter again. “Apologies, milord.”</p>
<p>“Laslow,” Xander said, sounding a little exasperated, but amused. “I’ve told you. We are family now, so you may address me by name.”</p>
<p>“Aha, sorry, Xander,” Laslow said, rubbing his head, before grinning at him. “Old habits die hard sometimes.”</p>
<p>Xander shook his head once more, and knelt down next to where Inigo was hiding. “Hello there. You’re Inigo, right?” he asked in a gentle voice. It reminded Laslow that this man had raised his three youngest siblings.</p>
<p>The boy managed to pry his face away from Laslow’s waist, and peered cautiously at Xander with his left eye, as if studying him carefully.</p>
<p>“He really looks just like you,” Xander noted, reaching a hand out as if asking Inigo to come closer.</p>
<p>“He does,” Laslow agreed, ruffling Inigo’s hair as the boy scrutinized Xander’s hand. “We both take after our father in looks, actually. Lucina and Marth took after our mother more.”</p>
<p>“Marth?”</p>
<p>“Our oldest sister,” Laslow clarified.</p>
<p>“You have three siblings?” Xander asked, looking curious.</p>
<p>“Just the three,” Laslow confirmed, patting Inigo on the head once again as he felt the boy’s grip loosen. Truly, he could sympathize – he had been in the position of hiding behind someone himself when he’d been this boy’s age. “And my cousins Odin and Owain, through my father’s younger sister. Marth is the oldest, then Odin, then me, then Lucina, and then Owain, and finally, Inigo.”</p>
<p>Inigo had managed to pull his face completely away from Laslow, and was eyeing Xander with a little more interest, now that Xander and Laslow appeared to be conversing with each other.</p>
<p>“I see,” Xander smiled at them. “You never spoke much of your family or life before arriving here, so I was curious to see—hm.”</p>
<p>Wondering what had caught Xander’s attention, Laslow followed his gaze, and noticed that he was looking at the right side of Inigo’s face, where the Brand of the Exalt was fully visible in the boy’s eye.</p>
<p>A conversation that he’d had while he’d been a retainer, before he had married Azura and had had Shigure and Soleil, while he had been grounded in Xander’s quarters, came to mind.</p>
<p><em>Oh.</em> He swore mentally.</p>
<p>“Mi- Xander?” he asked, catching the King’s attention.</p>
<p>“Hm? Oh, apologies.” Xander stood fully back up again, and reached out to pat Laslow on the shoulder. “Why don’t we go meet the rest of our family for dinner? Peri had decided to cook this time since this was her day off.”</p>
<p>His eyes widened. Peri’s cooking was to <em>die</em> for – in a way less violent than Peri would like, but absolutely delicious. “Just lead the way.” He winked at Inigo. “You’ll like Peri’s cooking, Inigo. I know I do!”</p>
<p>Inigo smiled up at him.</p>
<p>The fact that Xander had just completely brushed off the fact that he had been staring at Inigo’s eye without a single explanation made Laslow feel as if it did not bode well for him later.</p><hr/>
<p>Leo contemplated Odin’s story.</p>
<p>“So if I am translating what you said correctly,” Leo said. “The reason that we never found any evidence of your homeland was because the three of you were from a <em>different </em>time completely. And not only that, you and Laslow are royalty.”</p>
<p>“That is about the gist of it, mi- Leo,” Odin admitted. Forrest’s mouth was open in an ‘o’, and Nina, who had crossed her arms and was watching the scene, looked intrigued. Odin chose not to point out that her face looked exactly like Niles’s at the moment. “Selena is our childhood friend.”</p>
<p>Camilla, who had also been listening, was silent as well. “…I understand why you never told us, then.” Her expression turned to Owain – or more specifically, at the Brand on his arm, sitting not too far from Ophelia, who had an identical Brand on Ophelia’s arm. He wasn’t paying attention, too enraptured by the magic that Ophelia was teaching him, while Lucina had her nose buried in a book, frowning. “And he’s not your brother, but…”</p>
<p>“Another version of me, yes,” Odin sighed. “Only he has no need to walk the dark and twisted path that I did, as Risen were long gone by the time that he was born.” He watched as Camilla strode over to both Ophelia and Owain, ruffling Ophelia’s messy hair, before taking one more look at Owain… and ruffling his hair.</p>
<p>“Ah!” Owain squawked in surprise, ducking his head. “I-I do not—”</p>
<p>Odin bit back his laughter as Owain protested, but otherwise did nothing to push Camilla away from him.</p>
<p>“And Lucina and Inigo…” Leo said, his voice trailing off as he looked over at the blue-haired girl.</p>
<p>“Inigo is a version of Laslow, yes,” Odin confirmed, “And Lucina is a version of his older sister.”</p>
<p>“It’s seriously hard to believe that Laslow was ever that shy with how much he flirted everything with that looked vaguely feminine,” Niles muttered, shaking his head. “And Selena… she’s going to punch you, you know.”</p>
<p>Odin made a face. “Let her. It wouldn’t be the first time.”</p>
<p>“Regardless,” Leo started, leaning back. “You said you wanted my help in finding a bridge between your time and mine.”</p>
<p>“Correct,” Odin replied. “I want to return Lucina, Inigo, and Owain to their rightful time, so that they don’t lose their rightful place in the timeline. But I also do not want to cut ties with everyone there. Until they arrived, I believed that if we left Nohr, there would be no way back, so we never left after forming bonds here. However, they were able to get here.”</p>
<p>Leo sighed. “Well, perhaps we could start with the spell that they used to get here. A transportation spell using personal objects.” He gestured to the Missletainn sword and the dancer rings, which were in front of them.</p>
<p>“That’s as good a place to start as any,” Odin agreed.</p>
<p>They were in for a long night.</p><hr/>
<p>Dinner had been an interesting affair. Laslow had had to tell Soleil off more than once for hitting on Lucina again, though the two seemed to be better friends by the end of it, and Inigo had retreated behind Laslow once again until he had been coaxed out by Azura and Shigure – truly, music and especially dancing was the way to Inigo’s heart, Laslow knew, and the moment that they had said that they were dancers, Inigo had started speaking to them, almost enchanted.</p>
<p>He trusted Azura when it came to Inigo. She would treat him as her own, as awkward as it was, but it was getting easier to think of the boy as a different person entirely. Besides, the fact that Azura was <em>Laslow’s wife</em> had probably made Inigo a little curious about her, too. He just hoped that his mother hadn’t suggested flirting to him yet… or that Inigo wasn’t looking to him as a role model when it came to that.</p>
<p>Lucina had, oddly enough, gotten along the best with Xander himself – the two of them were able to get into a discussion on politics that the young princess had surprisingly mature opinions on, and Laslow could tell from Xander’s expression that the man wasn’t merely humoring her, but giving careful thought to her suggestions.</p>
<p>Privately, he wondered whether Xander would get along with <em>his</em> older sister, too.</p>
<p>Owain had appeared to have made fast friends with Ophelia – which made sense, given that Ophelia practically worshipped her father, and by virtue of being her age, Owain was considered ‘cool’ by her – as well as with Forrest, and even Nina was begrudgingly starting to accept his presence.</p>
<p>Truly, Laslow was not worried about Lucina, Owain, and Inigo fitting into Nohr. Nor was he worried about taking them back home. What he <em>was</em> worried about was how they would explain where exactly “home” was.</p>
<p>And, given that Xander had privately asked to speak to him, Azura, and their children, after dinner, other things as well.</p>
<p>Laslow had been inside Xander’s personal quarters plenty of times before as his retainer, always bringing him tea or refreshment, and on multiple occasions, under house arrest. He’d had plenty of time to get used to the fact that his boss had turned into his brother-in-law, but it was still awkward to be in here on a more personal level.</p>
<p>He sat down on the (very comfortable) plush couch, setting his hands on his lap as Xander contemplated him, and tried not to blush. Azura looked a little curious as well, as did Soleil and Shigure.</p>
<p>“You once mentioned,” Xander started. “That the royalty of your homeland have a special marking in their eye. I noticed that both your younger siblings have a mark in their eye. I’m unsure of the exact significance of that particular symbol, but I doubt that it is coincidence.”</p>
<p>Yep, this was indeed what Xander had wanted to talk about. Laslow’s brain scrambled to come up with an explanation that would not make it sound as if he was crazy. He simply nodded.</p>
<p>“So they, and by extension, you are royalty,” Xander said.</p>
<p>“That’s right,” he said softly. Shigure’s eyes widened.</p>
<p>Soleil <em>gasped</em>. “We’re <em>royalty</em> on both sides?!”</p>
<p>“What about Selena and your cousins?” Azura asked.</p>
<p>“Odin and Owain are,” he admitted, glancing down at his hands so that he didn’t have to stare Xander in the eyes. “Selena is unrelated to us, but we grew up together, so we were like family. Like how Silas was to you.”</p>
<p>“I see. Do you have the mark?” Xander asked, studying Laslow up and down now.</p>
<p>Laslow fidgeted again. As Xander’s retainer, he had gotten used to the other’s scrutinizing stares enough to not fidget. But now that he was no longer in the position, and their relationship had become much more casual, he was reverting back to his old habits. “I did. It was also in my right eye. Odin’s was on his arm, like Owain’s. We hid ours under illusion magic so that… so that no one saw them and asked too many questions. We didn’t… want anyone to recognize them.”</p>
<p>“You once mentioned you had a false appearance…” Xander muttered. “Will you tell us?”</p>
<p>Laslow thought about the time-travel adventure. “It’s… very complicated.” His hands gripped the leggings that he was wearing as he tensed up.</p>
<p>His family deflated at that, and Laslow felt bad – he’d always deflected questions about his past, and he was sure that he had given Xander more information now than he had in the entire time that they had known each other. “I-I want to tell you, now that I can, it’s just… I’m not sure whether it’s believable. It’d sound like one of Odin’s stories.”</p>
<p>“To be fair, Uncle Odin tells the best stories,” Shigure finally said, the first words he’d said during the conversation. “I’d love to hear a true story like those tales.”</p>
<p>“Me too!” Soleil grinned. “C’mon, Dad! Tell us! I’ve always wanted to know more about you!”</p>
<p>“Laslow,” Xander said. “We killed a First Dragon a couple of years ago. I am sure that whatever story you tell would be just as believable as that.”</p>
<p>He nearly choked. “Y-Yes, you have a point. Speaking of that…” He stared down at his lap. “…I supposed I should tell you the story of the Children of Time, then.”</p>
<p>“The Children of Time?” Azura asked, frowning as she tried to remember something. “There was a prophecy in Valla… that Anankos could only be defeated with the aid of the Children of Time. We had no idea who they were, or whether they were even found.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know anything about a Vallite prophecy,” Laslow admitted, gripping his leggings again. “But I do know about the Children of Time. After that… I’ll also tell you the story about how a dying god begged three strangers to help him.” And before his nerves got the better of him, Laslow opened his mouth and began.</p><hr/>
<p>“Why does <em>everything</em> happen when I’m not there to bail you two idiots out?!” Selena, for lack of a better term, was furious. She had finally gotten back from her errand to Hoshido, and finding out that she had missed all of the interesting things happening had <em>not</em> made her happy in the least.</p>
<p>Laslow and Odin sighed deeply before the latter launched into an explanation. “Things just <em>happened</em>, Selena. We had no control over it and didn’t find out until it was too late. At that point, <em>not</em> explaining would have led to even more questions.”</p>
<p>“So we’ve got the mini-versions of you two and Luci here, and now we’ve got to take them back to Yl— our homeland. Is that the gist of it?” She crossed her arms.</p>
<p>“…Slightly more than that,” Laslow sighed.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Selena asked.</p>
<p>“Xander wants to meet our families,” Laslow said. “In person. He had been bothered as it was by the fact that our families couldn’t be there at the weddings, and now that things have been revealed, he wants to go and meet them himself.”</p>
<p>“Wait,” Odin said. “I do not recall hearing of this. What revelations do you speak of?”</p>
<p>Laslow swallowed. They were both going to kill him. “I told Xander and Azura and my children everything. Including our true relationships with the children and that Odin and I are royalty.”</p>
<p>There was silence.</p>
<p>“Ah,” Odin said, his smile becoming sheepish. “I ended up telling Leo, Camilla, and Niles, and our children everything as well.</p>
<p>“I’m going to kill you!” Selena hissed, and she lunged for them. Thankfully, Odin dodged and grabbed her and held her back. “What made you think that you could just go and decide something like that?! <em>I</em> wanted to tell my husband and daughter myself!”</p>
<p>“They wanted to know and the whole Anankos situation has been dealt with!” Laslow threw his hands up in the air. “Besides, at this point, shouldn’t we be able to trust them? You honestly can’t tell me that telling our <em>families</em> at least never crossed your minds?!”</p>
<p>“It has,” Odin admitted. “Hence why I told them. In the end, Leo and I were able to come up with a spell that would transport us between space and time. Easily.”</p>
<p>“…That’s fair. As long as we can do that. I do kinda wanna go back and see everyone… I mean, my friends, and my daddy, of course.” Selena grunted in annoyance, but she didn’t argue the point anymore when Niles sauntered up to them with a grin.</p>
<p>“Hey, Selena.”</p>
<p>This time, Selena grumbled, but she slipped her hand into Niles’s and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Hey. Nina behave herself the whole time?”</p>
<p>“After nearly shooting Mini-Odin when he first appeared, yes. She’s with the other children right now.” And here, Niles turned to Laslow and Odin. “Mini-Laslow became best friends with your son and is terrified of your daughter.”</p>
<p>Laslow <em>sighed</em>. “I know.” Soleil could be a little… exuberant sometimes.</p>
<p>“My only regret,” Niles continued, “is that there was no Mini-Selena. Bet she’d have been the cutest little thing.”</p>
<p>“Well of <em>course</em> I’d be the cutest little thing!” Selena huffed. And then, quietly, she said, “I hope she would get along with Nina, too.”</p>
<p>“Nina and Severa…” Laslow muttered. “Those two would be terrifying together. Where are they?” he asked. “I’m sure you came here for a reason.”</p>
<p>“Yep. They’re in the throne room, which is where I’ve been summoned to bring you. His Majesty was there and wanted to talk to the entire family. Something about a trip to my dear wife’s homeland.” Niles smirked at them.</p>
<p>“Oh boy,” Selena groaned. “Not even here for two hours and already I’m going on another trip.”</p><hr/>
<p>In the end, the group heading to Ylisse wasn’t as large as Laslow, Odin, and Selena had feared. After explaining to the rest of the royals, and Xander had pointed out that they <em>all</em> couldn’t go, lest they leave no one capable of ruling in Nohr, it had only been the trio’s spouses, their children, Xander, and Leo that had accompanied them. Their spouses and children so that their families could meet them, and Xander and Leo, who felt responsible for Laslow and Odin.</p>
<p>(It had taken a <em>lot</em> of persuasion for Beruka and Peri to stay behind. Neither of the women had been happy about their lieges leaving without them, but had ultimately conceded with their orders.)</p>
<p>Odin had pulled out the orb that Anankos had given them (it turned out that there had been plenty of them in Valla, which Corrin had been happy to lend them when learning they were traveling elsewhere), holding it out of reach of Owain who had immediately become starry-eyed and had tried to reach for it. He glanced at the group around them.</p>
<p>“Ready?” he asked.</p>
<p>At the nods, he crushed the orb, and they disappeared from Nohr.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><b>No continuation:</b> Sorry, but every attempt to write the Ylisse scene was utter failure, and this fic sat on my computer since July because of that. Once I tossed it out, it was alarmingly easy to touch this up and finish it.</p>
<p><b>Awakening Trio Parentage:</b> I almost exclusively write Chrom!Inigo because I can’t see anyone else as Lucina’s sibling. Henry!Owain was picked because the crux was them performing a dark magic ritual to teleport, and being Henry’s would give him the most access. And I felt that Niles might at least get along with his future father-in-law if it was Lon’qu – as long as he kept the innuendo to a minimum.</p>
<p><b>Fates Pairings:</b> Revelation timeline. In addition to the tagged pairings in the tags, I also went with Leo/Sakura, Silas/Elise, and Jakob/Nyx. I usually don’t do Niles/Selena, but I feel like she suits Nina and their S Support amuses me. Laslow/Azura and Odin/Camilla are some favorite pairings of mine. Xander did not marry despite pressure and so Siegbert doesn’t exist; at the moment, he has named Camilla’s daughter, Ophelia, as his heir. I did leave a hint as to who I would have had Xander marry eventually in this timeline, but I don’t think it’s very obvious.</p>
<p><b>Children of Time:</b> A headcanon reference I have for the Awakening children in their history books.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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